Oh God.What is happening to me?
Nolan's gaze snaps up, eyes narrowing. “Lindsay?”
I shake my head, breathless. “It’s nothing. Just—” The bond pulses again, harder this time. A flush rises up my neck. “Are Veilbinds sexual?” I blurt.
“I—” Mira’s eyes go huge, cheeks flushing scarlet. “Um...sometimes? In early stages. If the bond formed during...heightened instinct on the anchor’s part.”
Nolan's brows knit, mouth parting like he wants to say more?—
And then the bond surges again, burning through me like a live wire. I gasp, body tensing, grip locking tighter on the table. My vision swims.
“Lindsay.” Nolan’s chair scrapes back. He’s moving before I can process it. His hand closes over mine, warm, steady. The pulse of the bond jolts, then stutters. The heat flares for one beat, then ebbs a fraction, enough to breathe. My shoulders sag forward, breath shaking out.
Nolan's grip stays firm. “It’s okay. You’re okay.”
I can still feel Raiden, somewhere distant, taut and on fire through the tether, but Nolan’s touch mutes the worst of it. Grounds me.
Mira leans in, voice small. “Sometimes contact...helps regulate. With anyone. At least...until the bond settles.”
I drag in another breath, trying to focus on anything but the lingering heat under my skin.
“GuessI’mlearning fast,” I manage.
Nolan gives a crooked smile, though his eyes are worried. “You’re not doing this alone. We’ll figure it out.”
Nolan settles into the seat next to me without a word, pulling one of the thicker volumes closer. His hand shifts, warm fingers sliding along my forearm, rubbing slow circles into my skin, his touch light, constant.
The bond’s heat dulls under the contact. It’s still there, but muted, less clawing.
I let out a shaky breath. “That...helps.”
He glances at me, offering a small, crooked smile. “Figured. It’s...like grounding a circuit.”
Mira’s head bobs. “I think I know a text that explains more.” She grabs a smaller lantern, which flares softly, and hugs it to her chest. “I’ll be right back!”
Then she’s off, disappearing between the rows with a flurry of dark braid and glowing light. The space around us feels quieter without her, dim and close beneath the old shelves, intimate even. Nolan keeps reading, eyes scanning slowly across the dense page. But his touch doesn’t stop—fingers rubbing small patterns along my wrist and palm, thumb trailing over mine.
Every brush sends a little wave of calm through me. I study him in the low light. The way his brows knit in concentration. The way his lips press together when he finds a line that puzzles him. The faint blush still on his cheekbones, like he’s not entirely comfortable with the closeness, but he won’t pull away.
And the longer I watch him, the harder it is to ignore the warmth building inside my chest again, not from the bond this time, but from somewhere deeper. Before I can second-guess it, I shift. My free hand lifts, my fingers brushing along his jaw, tilting his face toward mine.
His eyes widening, mouth parting to say something—and I kiss him.
Soft. Quick. Breathless.
For a second, he’s frozen, going completely still beneath my lips. Realization crashes over me. I pull back fast, heat racing up my neck.
“God—Nolan, I—I’m sorry, I shouldn’t?—”
But he shakes his head before I can finish, mutely, a quick breath leaving him, and then he’s the one leaning in, catching my apology right off my lips with his own.
This time, there’s no hesitation. His mouth is warm, soft, pressing fuller against mine. A surprised sound catches in my throat, and then my stomach flips, butterflies kicking wild and dizzy beneath my ribs. I lean in without thinking, fingers curling in his shirt, tugging him closer.
Nolan's other hand lifts, sliding up to cup my cheek, thumb stroking lightly as he tilts his head, deeper now, surer. The bond hums low and steady beneath it all, soothed but still alive—but none of that matters in this moment. Because this man, right here, wants me in the same way I want him. Right now, it’s just him. Just the steady press of his mouth, the way his touch grounds me when everything else feels like it’s spinning out of control.
When we finally break for air, my pulse is racing for an entirely different reason. Nolan’s eyes are wide, a little dazed behind his glasses. His cheeks flushed high. I’m breathless. Shaken.
And I’m not sure if it’s from the bond or fromhim.
